


The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

by Smoulder



Category: The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battle of Five Armies, Destruction of Lake-town, Dragons, Elves, Gen, Goblins, Hobbits, Mirkwood, Misty Mountains, Rivendell | Imladris, The Lonely Mountain, Trolls, Wargs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8242904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smoulder/pseuds/Smoulder
Summary: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, rendered as poetry





	

Bilbo the hobbit led a quiet life  
Pipe and tea, not war and strife  
Until one morning bright in May  
Gandalf the wizard swept him away

First came dwarves in hooded cloaks  
Bilbo thought them outlandish folks  
The dwarves from home had been displaced  
From their mountain they were chased

A dragon also took their gold  
And kept it under mountain cold  
Determined were they to return  
Despite the risk that all would burn

While the dwarves of treasure spoke  
Bilbo's adventurous side awoke  
Thus he quashed his fears and left  
Intending to commit a theft

So went Bilbo adventure seeking  
Riding, creeping, flying, peeking  
Sometimes bold and sometimes shy  
To defeat a dragon, at least to try

In pouring rain one gloomy night  
Did Bilbo get his first real fright  
Gandalf hid behind some knolls  
To save them from the hungry trolls

In Rivendell across the moor  
They learned about a secret door  
With the elves they took a rest  
Weary feet deemed this the best

Next traversing mountains tall  
Soon were lost in goblin hall  
Bilbo there was left behind  
In darkness he was hard to find

When Bilbo found where Gollum lay  
A game of riddles he had to play  
For both of them the stakes were high  
Soon Bilbo felt he had to fly

Gollum's ring he'd found before  
Resting innocent on the floor  
Gollum keenly felt its lack  
And so chased Bilbo to get it back

As Bilbo crept along the floor  
He followed Gollum to the door  
Once outside he found his friends  
Waiting where the mountain ends

Yet still they feared the goblins' might  
They ought to travel far ere night  
However wargs caught up with ease  
To get away they climbed some trees

Trapped by goblins, wargs, and fire  
The only road was flying higher  
Eagles safely brought them down  
Far away from goblin town

Honey bees and golden pear  
Filled the house of Beorn the bear  
He kindly gave them what he could  
Then off they went to cross Mirkwood

Gandalf, to mounting dread and despair  
Simply turned and left them there  
The dwarves and Bilbo alone now stood  
Beneath the eves of that dreaded wood

Yet on they trudged, day and night  
Hungry soon and full of fright  
The darkness cast by oaks and pines  
Sent cold shivers up their spines

Bombur the dwarf fell in the stream  
And instantly began to dream  
In hunger soon they left the path  
Thus incurring elvish wrath

Escaping to a spider glade  
Bilbo learned to use his blade  
Invisibly thanks to his ring  
Bilbo cut and stabbed with Sting

He saved the dwarves by spiders bound  
Free, they fell upon the ground  
Giant spiders came to see  
That their prey yet couldn't flee

Running from the spider's den  
The dwarves soon found the elves again  
The wood elves captured all they saw  
Thus only Bilbo escaped their law

Invisible he stole the key  
To set his dwarvish comrades free  
Through a trapdoor they went down  
In barrels they floated to Laketown

Thorin the dwarf soon was known  
As the king of mountain throne  
So a welcome warm they received  
Only Bard thought Laketown deceived

Newly provisioned they made a trail  
To the fragmented town of Dale  
The lonely mountain they ascended  
Though they feared it was defended

Locating the secret door  
Proved to be a daunting chore  
Just in time they found the place  
Though of a keyhole was no trace

On Durin's day the setting sun  
Revealed the door to everyone  
Then down the passage Bilbo crept  
To see if Smaug the dragon slept

Indeed upon his stolen hoard  
Smaug the dragon gently snored  
Bilbo to the dwarves went up  
But first he took a golden cup

Later Smaug did know a thief  
Had come to steal and give him grief  
He also knew the thief'd return  
Smaug would wait and they would burn

Invisible and silent as well  
Bilbo the hobbit forgot his smell  
Smaug was not caught unaware  
When he again entered the lair

Though Bilbo spoke in riddles to him  
Smaug the dragon was not dim  
He knew that help from Laketown came  
And thus resolved to burn it with flame

But Bilbo saw the dragon's chest  
Was unprotected in the breast  
Luckily this was overheard  
By the thrush, an intelligent bird

Meanwhile Smaug had left his lair  
Cruising silently through the air  
So in the tunnel dwarves had to hide  
While Smaug smashed the mountain-side

Broken was the secret door  
Boulders strewn upon the floor  
Were they to see the light of day  
They had to find another way

Toward the dragon's lair once more  
Bilbo strode across the floor  
Timidly dwarves followed him  
Underneath the mountain grim

Since the dragon was not there  
Bilbo walked across his lair  
Far ahead and thus alone  
He stumbled on the Arkenstone

Thorin wanted this great treasure  
The heart of the mountain, his forever  
Bilbo hid it, seeing a need  
Thorin to protect from greed

Down at Laketown Bard did know  
The moment he saw the river glow  
That the wrath of Smaug had woken  
Soon their homes would all be broken

While the dragon burned the town  
Bard the Bowman shot him down  
The thrush did tell him where to aim  
Thus the end of the dragon came

To the mountain the refugees fled  
By Bard they were prepared and led  
Hoping for a share of gold  
To fund protection from the cold

Despite the charity they'd shown  
When Thorin came and claimed his throne  
The mountain king turned them away  
Not one gold piece would he pay

Bilbo knew this wasn't right  
Down the mountain he crept at night  
The Arkenstone he brought to them  
For trading they could use the gem

By the mountain he also found  
An elvish camp upon the ground  
And one old man who brought him cheer  
Gandalf the wizard was finally here

Next day Bard did try to trade  
Yet Thorin felt he was betrayed  
He would have killed Bilbo in greed  
But Gandalf's orders he did heed

Thorin would not trade with Bard  
To part with gold was far too hard  
Instead he asked a raven to send  
A message to a dwarvish friend

An army of dwarves was on the way  
The elvish army was there to stay  
Goblins and wargs were coming as well  
For of the treasure they had heard tell

The coming battle would also be fought  
By men of Laketown who payment sought  
Heralding the imminent fight  
Dark clouds of war bats flew in sight

The battle of five armies began  
Warg and goblin 'gainst elf, dwarf and man  
All through the day and into night  
Bilbo witnessed this furious fight

Invisibly he slashed and stabbed  
Until his attention the eagles grabbed  
Although they still were far away  
He knew that they would save the day

Beorn in his bear form came  
His battle fury would goblins maim  
Finally Thorin came to aid  
His dwarfish kin with ancient blade

Knocked unconscious Bilbo lay  
All through night until next day  
Left there where he hit his head  
Invisible, they thought him dead

Once he wakened he was found  
And gently lifted off the ground  
Right away Bilbo was sent  
To visit Thorin in his tent

Injured and sorry for his greed  
Thorin begged Bilbo to forgive his deed  
This Bilbo did while tears he cried  
Thus peacefully king Thorin died

Soon after Bilbo took his leave  
His departure dwarves did grieve  
So Bilbo headed home at last  
All peril now was in the past

Except for peril he would bring  
That sinister enchanted ring  
This he to Gandalf finally showed  
As they walked along the road

So Bilbo's adventure came to an end  
Leaving him with many a friend  
Although the other hobbits near  
Now thought that he was rather queer

Despite this once again his life  
Was easy and devoid of strife  
Yet back to Rivendell, elves to greet  
Was Bilbo brought by restless feet

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback you may have, even if it's just about the tags that I chose or the rating or something, would be greatly appreciated as I have never done something like this before. Thanks for reading!


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